我们讲的英语第170期:Pie in the sky 难以实现的美梦

Li: I'm so happy you invited me to come to the woods to do some bird-watching with you, Finn.
莉：芬恩，我很高兴你邀请我来森林里和你一起赏鸟。

Finn: I'm glad you came along, Li. It's a very British hobby. We love nature and the different species of birds. That one, for example, is a swallow.
芬恩：我也很高兴你和我一起来。这是一个英国人的传统爱好。我们喜欢大自然，喜欢不同种类的鸟。比如，那只是燕子。

Li: Oh. Pass me the binoculars please.
莉：哦。请把双筒望远镜递给我。

Finn: Can you see how beautiful it is?
芬恩：你能看到它有多漂亮吗？

Li: Oh, I can see it clearly. It's tiny. It must be a young one. It's good that the mayor has promised to preserve these woods, Finn.
莉：哦，我可以看得很清楚。它很小，一定是只雏鸟。芬恩，市长承诺保护这些森林真是太好了。

Finn: I wish they would stop building shopping centres everywhere. But preserving all these areas is pie in the sky, Li.
芬恩：我希望他们能阻止在各地建造购物中心的计划。但是莉，保护这些地区希望渺茫。

Li: Pie in the sky? Where? These binoculars are good but I can't see any pie!
莉：天上的馅饼？在哪儿啊？这个双筒望远镜很不错，可是我没看到馅饼啊！

Finn: No, there is no actual pie up there, Li. In English, we use the expression 'pie in the sky' to talk about something good that we would like to happen but which is unlikely to.
芬恩：不是，并没有馅饼，莉。在英语中，我们用pie in the sky这个表达方式来形容我们希望某件好事发生，但实际上那并不可能发生。

Li: So you think the idea of preserving these woods is good but they might end up building a shopping centre here.
莉：所以你认为保护这些森林的计划很好，但是这里最终可能还是会改建成购物中心。

Finn: Exactly. Unfortunately, I think these businesses are too powerful.
芬恩：没错。很不幸，我认为这些企业太强大了。

Li: Let's not lose hope, Finn.
莉：芬恩，我们不要放弃希望。

Finn: Well, 'pie in the sky' is the expression in this edition of The English We Speak. Now let's hear some examples of how it is used.
芬恩：嗯，pie in the sky就是本期地道英语节目要学的表达。我们来听一些例句，学习这个短语的用法。

When my bank manager says the stock market is sure to recover by the end of the year, that's clearly pie in the sky.
我的银行经理说股市在年底前肯定会好转，很明显希望渺茫。

Mary's plans to live a life of luxury are just pie in the sky. She doesn't have much money.
玛丽计划过奢侈的生活，那根本是异想天开。她没有那么多钱。

Li: Well, I must admit that the idea of pie has made me hungry.
莉：嗯，我必须承认，说起馅饼让我感觉饿了。

Finn: Yeah, I'm hungry too. Let's go back to town and find a place where they serve tasty pies.
芬恩：是啊，我也饿了。我们回城里找个地方吃些美味的馅饼吧。

Li: Yes! I love cherry pie! Bye bye little birdies!
莉：好啊！我喜欢樱桃派！小鸟们，再见了！

Finn: Yum yum. Bye.
芬恩：那很美味。再见。